This item is from the 111th Congress (2009-2010) and is no longer current. Comments, voting, and wiki editing have been disabled, and the cost/savings estimate has been frozen.

H.R. 2145 would amend title II of the Social Security Act to restrict the application of the windfall elimination provision to individuals whose combined monthly income from benefits under such title and other monthly periodic payments exceeds a minimum COLA-adjusted amount of $2,500 and to provide for a graduated implementation of such provision on amounts above such minimum amount.

Detailed Summary

Windfall Elimination Provision Relief Act of 2009 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to: (1) restrict the application of the windfall elimination requirement to individuals whose combined monthly income from the primary OASDI insurance amount and the portion of the monthly periodic payment attributable to noncovered service performed after 1956 exceeds the cost-of-living adjusted amount of $2,500; and (2) provide for a graduated implementation of such requirement on amounts above such threshold by applying applicable percentages determined according to a specified formula.

Status of the Legislation

Latest Major Action: 4/28/2009: Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Points in Favor

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Points Against

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Visitor Comments

carol sebilia

I worked as a social worker and a teacher making little money for 35+ years, but thinking I was making a DIFFERENCE in the lives that I have touched. Now, I find my EARNED social security benefits wil be reduced by aprox. 1/3 and my husband's EARNED social security eventually due to me as a widow will be reduced 2/3rds. This is theft . If I worked for 2 banks I would be entitled to 2 retirements...why hurt teachers?

Maryann Crescioni

I have been working since I have been 15 years old. I thought becoming a US Civil Servant like my Dad and brother was a great idea. I worked very hard. Had to come to work in the middle of the night many times because every President has to have some kind of war or action and we have to move fast. Then Ronald Reagan decided to give my money to the Mexicans and now I live in poverty, all because I wanted to serve my country, like the rest of my family. Well as my friends serving in Viet Nam use to say, "I know I am going to heaven when I die because I've done my time in hell.

Les Smith Jr.

I am retiring from law enforcement in June and will have a state pension. I have also worked all of my life and paid into the social security system and should be able to collect that. Further, I am a Veitnam Veteran. However, due to this WEP I will be penalized a substantial amount every month. NOT fair. Don't make me pay at this time in my life. It seems that the people that have supported this country and worked their entire lives are the ones getting beat up.

Diana M.

I collect my deceased husband's social security benefit. I also paid into S.S. all my working years (that doesn't count at all now) EXCEPT for the time I spent teaching in a state school. They recruited me, in part by pointing out I could be vested and receive a modest pension after teaching for five years. At NO time did anyone tell me that my social security benefit would be reduced by 2/3's of that small pension benefit amount. This is just so terribly unfair. The lesson I have learned is (unfortunately) that maybe it just doesn't pay to work hard and try to plan responsibly for one's retirement because there are so many little known laws, or modifications to laws, that can deprive you of benefits you have rightfully earned. It's time to repeal the WEP and GPO...THIS year

Bill Droogoy

I aboslutely concur that this "WEP" provision is theft. It is merely a hyperobolic way to punish little people who need every cent, for the crimes of the congress critters who have been raiding SS.

My wife worked for 35 years in the West Indies, earning her pension there. NOW, she has to have her SS monies vut by two thirds because of that! WHERE'S the fairness? Those are TWO separate issues! She worked har there, and she worked hard and paid in for 15 yrs. HERE!

Subtracting one from the other is the worst form of chicanery. It now makes what might have been a reasonable-comfortable retirement almost impossible- especially as she must pay outrageous taxes to her West Indian nation for her pensions received here!

Someone in congress needs to change this outlandish law. And the title itself is disgusting! "Windfall elimination"? It sounds like some wealthy person is reaping huge rewards from the system when it is just a little person trying their best to make it.

Diane Horton

Class Action Suite..is tsueing an option? Some states have no WEP and others do. Discrimination comes in many faces. Those states who did not support Regan were punished. Any lawyers want to take this on.

Mat R

It's time. I worked two jobs for thirty years. One federal and the other the reserves. I lost 3 full years of my civil service retirement because of 4 reserve call ups. But the WEP takes the full penalty.

Bottom line if someone made the same amount of money I did (paying SSI) they would get 60% more then me. I actually hit the min. to stop the WEP 20 years and it is still -60%. The drop off is after 20 years then 5% is reduced per yaer. I still don't understand the spouse penalty?

R.Hammersley

I worked under social security paying in for years. Changed professions worked under PERS paying into that system. I had to work where I could get work and felt I was helping out by serving my community. Little people are not double dipping by working under SS and PERS. They paid into both systems and never made much money. Then WEP shoves people into poverty. It is Washington's license to steal from hard working average citizens while the crooks in Washington make sure they get grand raises and retirement. REVOKE THE WINDFALL ACT. WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR ANYTHING THAT IS NOT OURS.

Alida F

If retired military can draw multiple retirements without being discounted, why can't teachers and other public officials that have paid into a state system. The Windfall Elimination Provision needs to be rescinded.

Joyce P.

My retirement income from the Federal Government is less than 20.000 ayear.I worked as a teacher for children of the Military, My Senator Mitch McConnell doesn't think I deserve anymore, and yes I've worked since I was 15 and have paid into Social Security, I raised 3 children, before I went to work as a teacher,everyone else draws retirement and Social Security, why pick on the least paid people in the country.

Linda

This will have a signifcant effect on my retirement. I have worked hard for over 30 years as an educator and my retirement will not be large. 22 years of paying social security and taxes. The few years I taught without paying SS shoud not be held against me as I had no choice in the manner.

Arlene Smith

I work for a school district in Texas and although I have my 40 quarters in from previous work, I will not be entitled to my full social security. I feel that this is unfair since I have had not choice as to whether I pay social security or teacher retirement. I feel that I have earned both and I think I can speak for many people in my position.

harvey cox

How can the government have it both ways? That is,collect social security from you and then tell you they are not going to pay you the same percent that others receive. If so, then how come the government does not return the SS to you that you paid in?NODF5

How the WEP Works

The Windfall Elimination Provision reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security. It's purpose is to remove an advantage these workers would otherwise receive because Social Security's benefit formula is weighted such that workers with low lifetime earnings receive a greater share of their covered earnings in benefits than workers with medium or high lifetime earnings. The formula used to compute benefits includes factors that ensure lower-paid workers get a higher return than highly paid workers. For example, lower-paid workers could get a Social Security benefit that equals about 60 percent of their pre-retirement earnings. The average replacement rate for highly paid workers is about 25 percent.

(continued below)

How the WEP Works (continued)

A monthly Social Security benefit is ordinarily determined by applying a formula to an average of a person's earnings from work subject to the Social Security payroll tax. The formula applies three progressive factors of 90%, 32% and 15% to three different levels, or brackets, of average indexed monthly earnings (AIME). The resulting amount is the “primary insurance amount” or PIA. Under the WEP, the first factor of the formula, 90%, is reduced to 40%. The remaining two factors do not change. To protect individuals with low pensions, the reduction cannot exceed more than half of the pension based on noncovered work. For workers with more than zero but less than 30 years of covered employment, the 90% factor is reduced by 5% for each year below 30 years of covered employment. The windfall elimination provision does not apply to money paid out as survivor's benefits after the death of the worker.

Peggy Verdine

If I were a housewife and never worked a day in my life, I would get more Social Security than the 15 odd years that I paid in. That's assuming that my spouse was under Social Security. Not fair at all!!!

PeggyVerdine

Another comment. Be careful when you do start getting SS because they overpaid my husband (in other words they paid him what he was due) and then 8 months later we were required to may this "extra" amount back. Like it was our fault that they (SS) paid use the correct amount!!!

Kim Chi Nguyen

The windfall elimination provision assumed that people work for at one place most of their life and thus would have a substantive non-Social Security pension. This is no longer the case! This provision penalizes people unfairly!

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Michelle Myers

Where is the windfall for me? I worked for 12 years in the UK and earned a modest state pension. I worked 22 years here but the modest SS I earned gets reduced by a proportion of my UK pension. I don't get it.

Larry P

If you worked and had all your gredits in Social Securty like i did some 23 years. Then I went to work for the goverment and retired now the Social Security office takes back two dollars for every three I earn. They should grandfather us in if we had all our gredits before 1983.

Lauri W

The WEP is unjust and does not take into account those that change careers or work settings. I worked as a RN for many years paying into social security. I then decided that I would like to make a difference as a teacher as well. As a result, my Social Security payments are reduced because I chose to teach. Besides obtaining the education needed to change careers, I took about a 50% pay cut because I felt so strongly to answer to this 'calling'. I should not have my Social Security payments reduced because I chose another career. I paid in my share and should be entitled to the same retirement benefit from Social Security that I would have had based on my credits earned. The fact that I will receive a small pension from teaching should have no effect on my retirement from nursing. This is definitely a biased and unfair law that needs to be repealed. I would like to see this new law passed, but the $2500 threshold seems unnecessary; if you earn it, you should receive it.

...

So just how small is the pension from teaching? Anyone want to bet it is more than she would have earned under social security. Not to mention that during the time she was a teacher she paid no social security.

Frank M.

Elena

I worked 20 years for a private firm in Italy, and was expected to choose between social security being paid to the USA or Italian system, in line with the totalization treaty between the two countries. For purely bureaucratic reasons I chose the Italian system (the WEP did not exist at the time). I qualified for a minimum pension in Italy, and a minimum in the USA. When it came time to calculate my USA social security, the social security contributions paid to Italy were considered as not social security payments and therefore the USA amount is being halved. Had I needed to "transfer" credits from the states to the Italian system to qualify for my pension there, the WEP would not apply to me. That is, I should have worked 19 years and 11 months, borrowing one month from the USA credits. At this point I would have been exempt from WEP. Of course no one advises this. Does this make sense?

...

You are so wrong. The WEP applies to many more than just Civil Service employees. I am a retired teacher and I have an offset. Get your facts straight and maybe you won't make another assinine comment.

Nancy C

I worked at a community college in CA for over 8 years. Due to my own ignorance I did not realize how the non-deduction of FICA would affect me. Now I am really ticked about this. I have always been part-time. My pension from that retirement system is very low, but they told me at the SS office that my SS benefits will be reduced by over 1/3. In reading about the WEP it is even more confusing. The rep counted my SE even for those years where FICA was not taken out! This is wrong according to the .gov website. I with someone could help me with this or I won't be able to live on the 2 very small pensions. How can we get this inane law repealed? It is so unfair.

Puzzled

If someone lives and works in a foreign country for a non-US based firm long enough to qualify for a pension in that country's social security system (which that person paid into as required by the country's law) why should his or her US Social Security benefits be reduced because of that foreign pension. Since this person was living and working in another counrty he or she was not using any US resources or benefiting from living in the US. Why should he or she not be entitled to the full pension that was earned in each country?

Willie Johnson

I worked as a fruit picker from age 10 and started paying SS at the age of 12. I had paid 39 quarters when I was commissioned as a State Trooper at the age of 23. I and many others have put our butts on the line many times and to find out at the age of 62 I would only get 40% of what I thought I would get is very upsetting. My wife of 47 years also passed away at the age of 64 and because of my State pension I cannot draw on her SS, even though we as a family paid the taxes and did not benefit from what she paid SS. We at public servants, teachers, civil servants are the ones that suffer the most from WEP. It seems that the goverment penalizes us for being good citizens and paying our taxes.

Nancy C

We all need to inundate & clog the system with emails to our congresspeople. I did that to mine--haven't heard back yet--go figure? Just type "Congressman" or congressperson, plus the name of your city, state. The .gov website will come up with a picture of him/her. Write! All this complaining to each other is not all that reassuring and accomplishes nothing. Just do it!

Nancy C

You have to create a userID and password to login to vote. After you do this, go to your email and click the link they send to "activate" your account. Otherwise you can't log in. I just found this website today. It allows you to track senators in your state, plus see the status of all the bills.

Greg23

Compare this to the fact that Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and every other billionaire are eleigible to draw their full social security. This is means testing, but only for a very select few, and it's not even based on income. I went to the table that defines years you drew salary that was "significant income". Three of the four years I spent in the USMC in the mid 1960's did not meet the SS System's definition of significant income. This needs to be fixed.

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Bonnie1234

We no longer live under a "system of fairness". Our Government keeps changing the rules, or better yet deceive us with not disclosing the rules. Nothing was said or given to me in writing when I changed careers 11 years ago. I have worked since 1974 in the public industry arena dutifully paying into social security every year. (not all of these years count because they didn't reach a certain salary). At age 49, I went back to college and accepted an elem. teaching job. I have been working very hard teaching for the last 11 years in my new job but currently have painful spine problems. Many of us have severe DDD from our jobs caused by bending over to talk to our students). This year, because of lack of custodians, we carry our own boxes of heavy text books, clean our own classrooms, and so on. I need to retire at age 63, but can't because through the Windfall Act I will get a very small pension through teaching and a big cut of my earned S.S. This is criminal deception!

Bill R.

Man where have you been. The WEP has been a major topic of discussion in every education organization for the past 10-12 years at least. I started teaching in 1994 and not long after that a teacher's conference I attended had a session on WEP and the consequences for teachers in state retirement groups.

RoseMarie

I worked 21 years in SS with the idea that I would receive the full amount due to me. Then I went to work for the Civil Service thinking that I would receive both my full pension and full SS, but along came Congress and passed the WEP law which cut my income by approx 450 a month. I feel that this law should be repealed in full to all of us who paid Social Security taxes and deserve the full amount to be paid to us. There are a lot of people who work in private industry who get their full pensions and also their full social securty. This bill definitely needs to be repealed immediately. I hope all of our comments are taken into consideration. Congress does not have the right to take our money that is owed to us through our contributions to SS

Nancy C

Did you know that less than 1% of the newly introduced bills in congress ever make it to the floor! So as I said before, we can just gripe back & forth here or do something about it! Write your senator!

camille s.

Isn't it amazing and they call this a democracy. Wonder why someone has not organized a peaceful march on Washington, seems that's the only way something stands a chance of getting corrected. No point in asking for the status of this bill because it is always dormant.

john h.

worked for the usps 30 years. will get a full pension from that. s.s. is a different. at 62 would have collected about $6k a year. $8k at 66. now at 62, will only receive $2500.00 per yr. minus the $1200.00 they will take out for medicare. not to mention the taxes. my net will be $100.00 or less a month because of the wep. someone tell me why i should be penalized for working in the private sector and paying into s.s. before i went into the postal service. why do congressmen get to keep there full s.s. and not me?

katie P

Like everybody else, I joined Civil Service years ago. At no time were we told that we would not receive Social Security until I was ready to retire.

The rationale I was given was that working for Civil Service guaranteed our job, where the private sector jobs were not protected. That went down the toilet when the Civil Service in California began forcing those who received job promotions out of Civil Service as a condition of the promotion. We lost our Civil Service protection and our Social Security and we had little or no choice in the issue.

So why is it that people working in multiple jobs can collect a pension from all jobs worked and also collect Social Security and those of us who worked serving the public are screwed? This penalty is highly unfair to government employees. We had no choice re opting out of Social Security. Employees who cannot afford to pay extra to the retirement fund cannot live on the pensions provided (some less than $600 monthly.)This is wrong!

Ron

When congress is allowed to write the rules it can change them as it needs to reduce payments to those receiving them or increase taxes. What do you think it will do with nationalized health insurance to replace FEHB? WEP is all about money needed for a declining SS trust fund and not fairness.

nancy Elliott

I called a financial talk radio program when the guest was discussisng social security. I asked about the chances of repeal of the offset (I was a teacher), he asked my age - I said 76 - he said not in your lifetime

CDB

Those of us who worked multiple jobs were always paying into social security as well as the pension plan at our place of work. You were not paying into social security during your days in government service. So why do you think you should collect for something you didn't pay into? Sounds like you are just another of the "gimme, gimme, gimme" crowd.

kbuckley61

CDB,The WEP applies to someone if they pay into a federal plan AND Social Security. Get the facts before you mouth off. I would like to see your opinion of the WEP if it applied to you. Obviously it doesn't.

kbuckley61

This unfair bill targets low-income people and I agree that there should be a limit on when the WEP can kick in. I'm sure members of Congress, who work for the government, and also have had to contribute to Social Security don't have to be penalized by this!

CDB

Perhaps you should go back and re-read the comments, that is if you actually can read. The question was about those who worked several private industry jobs.

Actually, the WEP is designed to target all you folks who would get more social security benefits than you deserve. If you really understood the process of social security benefit calculations you would know that. But I really doubt you could comprehend the concepts involved.

Ralph Martinez

The WEP provision has been nothing more than another way for the federal government to in effect to take more money away from the middle class workers who have always bore the brunt of taxation (the wealthy have always found many loopholes to avoid paying taxes) I was in law enforcement for 25 years. Now I am required to subsidize low income persons because about 2/3's of my SS will be deducted to accomplish that??? Are legislators in Washington doing the same with their retirements? The answer is HELL NO!! The W.E.P. should be: Washington.Expects.Payment. from the dedicated hard working people that worked in government and have a pension. Repeal this ruling. It is totally wrong

...

Carleene, if you bothered to check you will get something from social security when you are eligible. You just won't get more than you deserve.

Ralph, surely you jest! Your statement - "dedicated hard working people that worked in government" is so silly that it doesn't even deserve consideration. Government and hard work - now that is an oxymoron if ever one was uttered.

D.M.

Perhaps I am just too simple minded for all this big gov't talk. Can someone explain to me why 15 yrs of paying my fair share INTO S.S. as an industrial painter, no longer matters because I switched jobs to a municipal laborer. NEITHER my S.S. NOR my pers benefits would be a windfall.

Jeez, I never realized I was the guy bankrupting S.S. Good thing our elected officials saved the rest of our nation from me.

CB

"Your kind"? What "kind" is that, D.M.? The kind who teach your kids, protect your property and treat you in emergency rooms? The WEP is completely unfair to those who have paid into both Social Security and public service pension plans. And to add insult to injury, government pensions not only greatly reduce the amount of social security you receive, but any you might receive if your spouse dies. This is working just fine?

CM

I worked both for the Federal govt and for private industry. Paid into CSRS and into social security. Why am I being penalized for being a faithful government worker? My social security payments are just as legitimate as anyone else's. The benefits should be straightforward and calculated with NO penalties. In fact, I paid the MAXIMUM into social security once I took a private sector job that paid compensation more aligned to the education and skills I have.

MM

Any little 80 yr. old lady- who worked in private industry- did not make a lot of money. The same little 80 yr. old lady- who worked as a teacher - did not make a lot of money. We are the "poor" middle class. Is "Uncle" really going to kick us in the butt AGAIN???!!!

Jim T

Like the rest of you I got my 40 quarters in before I took a Government Job and now at retirement age I'm getting screwed. While my friends get all there's. Thanks Ronald, I have and never will vote Republican again..

MICHAEL S

The WEP is is obviously terrible legislation - obvious to any fair-minded, reasonable individual. Ignore the sadistic rants of the closet sociopaths like CDB and ... - let's get organized. Where do we find information about how to dismantle the WEP?

CDB

Ignore me if you choose, but there is nothing wrong with WEP. It prevents the payment of undeserved benefits. Do you realize how long it has been in effect? And how many times special-interest groups have tried to get it killed? And yet it is still here. Why? Because it is the right thing to do and it works. Too bad for you since you don't get extra money you don't deserve.

Ed the mailman

Jim T. The Democrats were in charge of of the Senate and House. They didn't have to vote for it. I wrote an email to Richard Gephart when he was leader of the congress. He emailed back we couldn't afford to give civil service retire people their full SS even if they earned enough quarters. So good luck with the Dems controlling everything--they do this every year to keep people voting for them but never follow through on the bill.

For Peggy

Fleeced and Scr*wed

Oh, so that's what they call it...the windfall theft...Recently I was awarded just enough S.S. at age 66 to be able to live under the local bridge. My mistake? Serving the poor, the public, the needy for nine years as a classified instructional aide at the community college. Wow. I planned to "retire" from my job in May, 2010. Looks like I'll be working another year to save my $600 a month as relocation money to move away from this state of California that tends to beat up the elderly with its taxes.

Oh joy..

Fleeced and Scr*wed

Wait a cotten pickin' minute here you people who are dissing public servants. I paid into both retirements as a 60% employee, one will pay me around 265 a month and the glorious, get-rich-quick scheming part of me will collect a total of $600 from the SS. I'm justworking hard like the rest of you holier-than-thou haters, who always make a point of downplaying service in the public sector vs. REAL service and "hard" work in the private.

Come on now people. Get a clue. Some of the unemployed people in my classroom have lost jobs after 10 or 15 years. Some of theme devastated. But I didn't ask them

if they felt I was deserving of my pension. Some of them were even, (gulp) Republicans. Now can you imagine that?

NILDA

WEP IS NOT FAIR. I have been working since I had 18 years. Now when I'm thinking to retire, I realized that my pension will be short to live. I was informed that due to WEP my pension will be reduced. I worked with a private Company for 15 years and then with Federal Government. I qualify for SS plus my retirement pension but in my case the retirement benefits will be reduced due to WEP. This is not fair. My salary will be reduced when retire and my pension too. WEP penalizes me unfairly. Congressman, please take action and abolish this Provision.

Marge

I think it is unfair as a widow, benefits that my husband worked so hard fo are unavailable to me as a teacher. This is so unfair as he worked to provide for his family. Now that he is deceased all his hard work will do nothing for his family. I should have stayed home and just been a housewife. Shame on the government!

Marilyn

This is a much needed change. After staying home to raise children for 20 years, my husband divorced me. I took a government job - completely unaware of this bill and what it will do to my pension. I will be left with $30 social security and 800 gov't pension. I don't feel this is fair. My spouse and I paid into SS jointly for all those years and now I get nothing!!!!!!!!!!